


a saltwater song

by hipgrab (merrymegtargaryen)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Reylo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 15:57:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14674479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymegtargaryen/pseuds/hipgrab
Summary: There is a song about a mermaid who lived on land. She fell in love with a man, and it was for love of him that she died. Mermaids aren’t supposed to live on land. So it’s no small wonder that her legs ache.





	a saltwater song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sapphiresunset](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphiresunset/gifts).



> My contribution to MerMay! Dedicated to Chloe, who's been going through a rough time <3
> 
> Many many many thanks to aionimica for betaing!

There is a song about a mermaid who lived on land. She fell in love with a man, and it was for love of him that she died. Mermaids aren’t supposed to live on land. So it’s no small wonder that her legs ache.    
  
She loves and hates her legs. Humans look so graceful on them, so elegant. Rey feels awkward and gangly, stumbles through the meadow like a fish with an injured fin. It takes her what feels like hours, and when she finally turns around to mark her progress, her heart sinks. The beach is right behind her. She hasn’t gone any distance at all.    
  
Mermaids aren’t supposed to have legs for such a long stretch of time. Most never use their legs for more than a few hours at a time, always to lure in men. But Rey is determined to walk on her legs for as long as she can. She doesn’t know why, really. She doesn’t even like walking. But it’s like something ancient is calling her, pulling her deeper inland.

She’s been on land before, but she’s rarely left the beach. She never needed to--men are so easy to catch. Some of her sisters like to play with them first, but that’s never appealed to Rey--she just wants to eat her fill.    
  
It’s night by the time she makes it into the woods. Her feet are cracked and bloody and her legs are shaking, but she lurches forward, using the trees for support. Why is she doing this? What’s drawing her--

Up ahead. There. Something bright. 

_ Fire _ .

Fire means humans. Humans can help her. Can’t they? Won’t they?

She lurches forward again and finds she doesn’t need to hold onto the trees when her objective is so clear. There’s a figure just beyond the fire, or just next to it, perhaps. 

“Who are you?” A man. Brandishing something long and bright. No, it only reflects the light. Silver? A sword. Maybe this was a bad idea. But the sword trembles and, after a moment, he lowers it. His eyes are kind. Sad.

“Help,” she rasps before pitching straight into his arms.

.

She wakes to so much air it nearly threatens to drown her. She can breathe air, of course, but she isn’t used to so  _ much _ of it. 

Her fin--no, her  _ legs _ throb. She cracks open her eyes, blinks against the dappled light coming in from the trees. Something warm is covering her, obscuring her legs from view. She pushes it aside and sees that she’s wearing...clothes. The man. Had he dressed her? That seems silly to Rey--men like her kind  _ because _ they don’t wear any clothes.

Past the hem of the shirt she finds her legs. A flash of resentment passes through her at the sight of them, dirty and scratched. She hates these legs. Her fin is so much more beautiful, golden-red and glittering. 

“You’re awake.”

She turns her head and sees the man. His eyes are still kind and sad--tired, too. She tries to ask him why he put clothes on her, but the words seize up in her parched throat. He grabs something from beside him and then kneels in front of her, extending the pouch to her.

“It’s water,” he says when she doesn’t take it.

She reaches for it eagerly, lets him tip the horn to her lips. She drinks deeply, even if it is the blandest water she’s ever tasted, because it’s  _ water _ . 

“Thank you,” she murmurs when he pulls it away. 

“Are you all right?” he asks her. 

She thinks about his question. “My legs hurt.”

He won’t look at her legs. He must think they’re ugly, too. “How long were you out there?”

“Hours.” She pulls the warm...thing over her legs, hiding them. “Why did you put clothes on me?”

His face turns red. “You were naked.”

“I know I was,” she says with a frown. Humans are so  _ strange _ . 

He looks away. “Why were you naked?”

Oh. Humans aren’t supposed to be naked. She tries to think of a reason but can’t--she doesn’t know anything about human women. “I don’t want to tell you,” she decides.

He looks upset for a moment, but then his face calms and he nods. “All right. Don’t tell me.” He licks his lips. “Are you in...danger?”

“I don’t think so.” She touches his cheek. He flinches but doesn’t move away. “What’s your name?”

“Ben,” he says, his eyes searching hers. “My name is Ben.”

Ben. It sounds honest. She likes it. “I’m Rey.”

If Rey was ready to feed, if she was ready to mate, this would be the moment she’d draw him between her legs. He would be a good mate, she decides. He would be kind to her. But her legs are so dirty and scratched and ugly now, and she doesn’t want to draw him between those. She drops her hand. This whole endeavor feels stupid.  _ Why _ had she gone on land? There’s nothing for her here. “I think I’ll go.” She tries to stand, but the pain that throbs from her feet to her hips is so bad that her knees buckle, and if not for Ben scrambling to his feet and catching her, she would be on the ground again. 

“You can’t go anywhere like this,” he says firmly. He hefts her easily into his arms, carrying her as if she weighs no more than a feather. “Let me take you...wherever you’re going.”

Her legs don’t hurt so much when he’s carrying her, one massive hand curled under her knee. She winds her arms around his neck. “Can you take me to the sea?”

He blinks at her. “Just...the sea?”

“Yes.”

“Not to the docks, or…?”

“Just the sea,” she says. “Please.”

“All...all right,” he says, swallowing. “Let me...let me tend your wounds first.”

He carries her away from the charred remains of the fire, towards a stream. 

“No,” she says, her heart racing. “Not the water…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t put you in it,” he says, and it occurs to her that he thinks she can’t swim. That’s good, at least--if he submerges her legs in water completely, she’ll turn back into a mermaid and then he’ll know.

He sets her on a rock, splashing cold water onto her legs. It’s freshwater, not salt, and that relaxes her too because she doesn’t think her fin will grow in freshwater. Ben unwinds a cloth from around his neck and dips it in the water before wiping gently at her legs. The dirty comes off in streams, fat brown droplets rolling down her ankles. He works her shins and ankles clean and then sits on his knees so that he can wash her feet. Her feet ache something terrible, and she sees now that she cut them on rocks and brambles and whatever else she stepped on last night. She would cry if she could, but mermaids have no tears to shed, so Rey just bites her fist and whimpers.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he says, sounding almost as pained as she is. “It’s almost over.”

When he finishes, he carries her back to what was left of the fire, her legs cold and clean and new. 

“No more walking for you,” he says, and as they return to what’s left of the fire, she sees a great beast she had not seen the night before. It has four legs and a mane of hair, and to her horror, Ben sets her atop it.

“I’m frightened,” she tells him, clutching the leather in front of her. The beast shifts uncomfortably beneath her and she fears she’ll fall right off of it.

“Don’t be frightened,” Ben says, as if it is that easy. “Kylo won’t hurt you.” 

She eyes Kylo mistrustfully, but the creature does not hurt her. Ben packs up his things and stows them on his beast before swinging up behind her. His chest is pressed close to her back, his legs behind hers, his arms sure and strong as they reach around her for the reins. The beast shifts again and Rey cries out, her hands clutching his.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ben murmurs in her ear. “If I can feel it too, so can he. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She’s glad he’s behind her so that he can’t see the flush on her face. She’s killed men his size, has eaten their meat and drunken their blood and used their bones for toys. And this… this is different. No mating, no eating, no hunger or feed. Just comfort. Rey wants so  _ badly _ to believe that Ben will take care of her. 

His legs squeeze the creature and then it starts off, making Rey cry out again. Ben wraps one arm around her waist, the other holding onto the reins. The creature’s movements unsettle her, but they are steady, and after a time she relaxes into the circle of Ben’s arms.

“What were you doing last night?” he asks her. 

“I don’t know.” She traces the ridges of his knuckles. “I just...wanted to see how far I could go, I suppose.”

“Oh,” Ben murmurs. “Me too.”

“What are you headed to?” she asks, wondering if he felt the same ancient, primal thing calling her.

He’s quiet for a moment. “Not...headed  _ to _ ,” he admits. “It was more...what I was headed  _ away _ from.”

She opens her mouth to ask him what he means, but there’s a commotion from behind them. Ben twists to look and then turns back around, sending Kylo into a gallop.

“We’re being followed,” he tells Rey, who is clutching onto the pommel for dear life. He has both hands on the reins now, his legs kicking the sides of his four legged beast. The creature whinnies, sturdy legs pounding across the ground. Rey closes her eyes, whimpering as she feels the forest rush past them. There are other men shouting, calling  _ my lord, my lord _ , and the sound of more beasts like Kylo. Ben leans forward, practically flattening Rey against Kylo as he rides. She whimpers again as she feels Kylo’s muscles flex beneath her.

“It’s all right, it’s all right, I’ve got you,” Ben mutters. 

He’s solid, almost heavy, on her back, and somehow his weight reassures her. She longs for her fin and miles of open sea where, even if she isn’t always safe, she at least knows how to outswim whatever’s after her. She can do nothing now but hold on and hope that Ben will keep his promise.

Gradually, the thud of their pursuers falls behind and Ben pulls Kylo back into a canter. Rey has been breathing hard, something of which she only becomes aware when Ben straightens up behind her. She pulls herself up as well, settles back against his chest as he loosens the reins. 

“I’ve got you,” Ben murmurs in her hair, one hand resting on her hip. 

“Who were they?” she asks.

Ben is quiet. “They were the people I was running away from.”

“They called you their lord,” she remembers.

The hand at her hip tenses. “It’s nothing.”

She wonders at that. He’s so strange. Maybe all humans are like this and she just never knew any of them long enough to find out. 

“Can we stop soon?” she asks. “I’m sore.”

“Soon,” he says, and he seems to relax behind her. “Just a little further. When it’s safe.” 

She trusts him, but her lower half is aching. She has a newfound appreciation for Kylo, monstrous though he is, for carrying them to safety, but she feels so unstable up here, anchored only by the hand Ben is sliding from her hip to splay out on her belly. “Are you hungry?” 

She isn’t, really. Her kind don’t need to eat that often. “No.”

“Oh.” He sounds disappointed, starts to drop his hand, but she takes it and presses it back against her belly. It feels nice there, so big and warm and sure. She isn’t hungry for food, at least. Ben’s thumb just barely brushes the underside of her breast; she pushes his hand higher until it’s molded over her breast. She grins as he sucks in a breath, his heart pounding furiously against her back. “Rey…”

She urges his hand to squeeze her, sighing in contentment when he does. A bulge grows from where her bottom is pressed against him, a hardness she knows only too well. She grinds back against him, giggling when he sucks in another breath. “ _ Rey _ .”

She pushes his hand lower, pushes it under the hem of his borrowed shirt. He’s practically trembling, but she touches his fingers to her lips and croons encouragingly, coaxing his fingers to circle that nub she likes so well. His movements are tentative at first, but as she rests her head on his shoulder and sighs in approval, he becomes bolder. He shifts her hips, granting him more access, and one of his fingers finds her slit. She’s wet there, something that does not go unnoticed by Ben. He slides one finger inside her, drawing out a long moan from Rey. Men do not often pleasure her--too often, they meant to take what they want. But Ben is eager to learn, responding to her noises and the movement of her hips.

Kylo whickers, startling them both. There’s water up ahead, a small, round pool. It’s as good a place to stop as any. Ben swings off his beast and then reaches up for Rey, pulling her off of Kylo. She wraps her legs around his waist, arms wound around his shoulders as he carries her the short distance to the pool’s bank. He only takes his eyes off of hers to kiss her, both gentle and fierce. She moans into his lips, flicks out her tongue to taste him. He is unsure at first, but she shows him how she likes it. Ben, she’s happy to discover, is a fast learner.

Slowly, he eases them both down to the ground. She lies on her back, watches eagerly as he pulls off his shirt. He’s big and broad and strong, and when she sits up to nip at one of his muscles he hisses. The flesh there is red when she sits back to admire her handiwork, and she would do it again if he hadn’t reached for the shirt she’s wearing. She raises her arms obediently, feels relief as the humid air touches her bare skin again. Ben urges her back onto the ground, kissing and suckling at her neck and her breasts. He braces himself on one arm; his other hand slips down between them, touching her slit and its bud again. It feels so much better this way, opening herself up to him. 

Slowly, Ben moves down her body, kissing her stomach and then--looking at her with pupils so wide they are nearly black--he settles his head between her legs and presses a kiss to her bud.

She bucks against him, gasping at the sensation. Ben wraps his hands around her thighs, holds her still as he licks the wetness of her slit. She bucks again, whimpering at the contact. Ben alternates between kissing and licking her, and when she’s close, he slides a finger inside her again, crooking to find that mysterious spot inside her. She cries out as she comes, her hands buried in his hair as she seeks purchase.

When she’s calmed and quieted, he kisses his way back up her body. 

“I want you,” she murmurs against his lips, which taste sweet and heady and remind her, somehow, of home. “Inside me.”

Ben fumbles with his pants, cursing as they catch around his ankles, but Rey pulls him to her and guides his cock to her slit before he has fully taken them off. He slides inside her with agonizing slowness, their chests heaving against one another as he goes in as far as he can. They’re both still for a moment, sweat beading on their skin, and then he begins to thrust. He’s gentle with Rey, but she’s been with men before, men who were careless and even cruel, and he feels so good that it isn’t long before she’s wrapping her legs around his hips and urging him to go faster. He does, bracing his forearms on either side of her head as he ruts with her. She moans long and loud, scrapes her fingernails up and down his back to show her pleasure. When she senses that he’s close, when his arms begin to tremble, she reaches between them and finds that bud again, rubbing and circling until she seizes around him. She sinks her teeth into his shoulder, hard enough that she tastes blood. Maybe Ben won’t like that, maybe—

But he groans, hips driving her harder into the ground as he fills her with his seed. He feels wet and warm inside her, and when he rolls onto his side she follows, pressing up against his sweat-slicked chest. Ben wraps his arms around her, kisses her temple. 

“What are you thinking?” she asks, because she’s never gotten to this part with a man. She always kills them before they finish. 

Without hesitation, Ben tells her, “I’m the prince.”

She waits for him to continue, but he doesn’t. “So?”

Ben actually laughs, shifting to look her in the eye. “You don’t care?”

“Should I?”

He kisses her, which she thinks is a strange response, but not an entirely unwelcome one. “I hate being a prince. Everyone is always trying to control me. They tell me…” His voice lowers, as if maybe he’s never said this out loud before. “They tell me I’m full of potential, but they mean to harness it for themselves. I’m just a piece in their games.”

“So you’re running away,” she murmurs, stroking his hair. 

He kisses her hand. “With you. If you’ll have me.”

Rey considers him. “There is something I must show you. And then it must be you who will decide if  _ you _ will have  _ me _ .”

He looks the slightest bit reluctant, but he nods. Rey disentangles herself from his arms and slowly, carefully, lowers herself into the pool. It is, as she suspected, a lagoon--saltwater. She sinks fully into it until nothing but her head remains above the surface. The transformation is quick, and the only sign that it is happening at all is a small disturbance below the water. She rises just a little to display her fin. 

Ben’s mouth falls open.

“This is who I am,” she says softly. “And this is who you’d be running away with. I cannot even run because my legs were meant to ensnare your kind--not to carry me deeper inland.”

His eyes flash in hurt. “Were you trying to ensnare  _ me _ ?”

“No,” she says honestly. “You helped me. And...I like you. I would have killed you by now if I wanted to.”

He still looks as if he doesn’t trust her. “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie.” Her voice shakes. 

“You concealed the truth.” He sits up, reaching for his clothes. 

“Ben--” She surges forward, reaching for his hand, but he recoils so sharply it stings. He doesn’t want to touch her. He finds her repulsive. 

Something hot pricks Rey’s eye. She realizes that she’s crying.

Mermaids don’t cry.

“Please don’t go this way,” she begs. “You said you were running away--Ben, they’d never find you if you came with me.”

He hesitates. “Where?”

“The sea.” When he still doesn’t move, she reaches for him again, and this time he doesn’t pull away. “You could come with me. We could...we could be happy. You and I.”

He finally, finally looks at her, and she’s surprised to see tears in his eyes, too. “How? How would I live in the sea?”

She smiles. “You don’t know?” She pushes herself up, just enough so that her lips brush his. “A mermaid’s kiss will save a sailor from drowning.” She kisses him, winding one hand in his black locks and drawing him slowly to the water. He follows, willingly, at first, but as she pulls him to the surface he hesitates.

“Don’t be afraid,” she whispers. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

He wraps his arms around her shoulders, and without breaking their kiss, Rey pulls him down into the water, down, down to where the lagoon joins the sea, and then her fin carries them away from land and out to miles and miles of open sea. 

  
  



End file.
